Portable heating oven for preheating rigid vinyl sheets

ABSTRACT

A portable heating oven for preheating rigid vinyl sheets for on-the-job fabrication consisting of an elongated sheet metal housing, a flat heat transmitting plate disposed in a horizontal position in the housing and having depending legs supported on the bottom wall of the housing, an electric heating element on the bottom side of the heat-transmitting plate for imparting heat thereto, and a door hingedly mounted on the front side of the housing to enable the positioning of vinyl sheets to be heated on top of the heat-transmitting plate. The heat-transmitting plate and its leg supports are of a configuration to allow for expansion of the plate and the legs when heated.

United States Patent Edwards [54] PORTABLE HEATING OVEN FOR PREHEATING RIGID VINYL SHEETS [72] inventor: Dare E. Edwards, 5450 Conway Road,

Chelsea, Mich. 481 18 [22] Filed: July 1, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 51,625

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,094,406 Mincks .11....99/349 [45] Feb. 22, 1972 Primary Examiner- Volodymyr Y. Mayewsky Attorney-Olsen and Stephenson [57] ABSTRACT A portable heating oven for preheating rigid vinyl sheets for on-the-job fabrication consisting of an elongated sheet metal housing, a flat heat transmitting plate disposed in a horizontal position in the housing and having depending legs supported on the bottom wall of the housing, an electric heating element on the bottom side of the heat-transmitting plate for imparting heat thereto, and a door hingedly mounted on the front side of the housing to enable the positioning of vinyl sheets to be heated on top of the heat-transmitting plate. The heat-transmitting plate and its leg supports are of a configuration to allow for expansion of the plate and the legs when heated.

1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEIJFEB22 I972 Q 7 j U 26 30w 1 a: Ti::r-m

INVENTOR DARE E. EDWARDS FIG. 3 BY (2% MW ATTORNEYS PORTABLE HEATING OVEN FOR PREIIEATING RIGID VINYL SHEETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Rigid vinyl sheets are becoming extensively used in the housing industry for external covering purposes. It often becomes necessary to shape rigid vinyl material on the job in order to fabricate it for special trim purposes. It thus becomes necessary to preheat a vinyl sheet to a specified temperature in order to enable the sheet to be shaped to adapt it for a special trim purpose with assurance that the special shape will be retained after the trim is installed. At the present time no suitable oven apparatus is available for on-the-job heating of vinyl sheets for this purpose.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is

heating rigid vinyl sheets for on-the-job fabrication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The portable heating oven of this invention consists of an elongated hollow housing formed of sheet metal and having front and back sides and a bottom wall. A flat heat-transmitting plate is disposed in a horizontal position in the housing and is provided with depending legs supported on the bottom wall of the housing. An electric heating element is mounted on the underside of the heat-transmitting plate for imparting heat to the plate and conventional thermostat apparatus associated with the heating element insures that sufficient heat will be conducted through the heat-transmitting plate to a vinyl sheet placed thereon to heat the sheet to the required temperature. A door hingedly mounted on the front side of the housing for up and down pivotal movement enables full access to the interior of the housing so that vinyl sheets to be heated can be readily placed in and removed from the oven. A heat retaining and equalizing board is placed on the sheet during heating to prevent undesirable deformation of the sheet during heating and handles on the housing facilitate movement of the oven to desired locations. Accordingly, the oven in this invention enables easy heating of vinyl sheets to temperatures at which they can be shaped to form special trim pieces and the like with assurance that the sheets will retain their formed shapes.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I is a front elevational view of the portable heating oven of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the heating oven of this invention as seen from substantially the line 2-2 in FIG. l;and

FIG. 3 is a foreshortened front elevationalview of the oven of this invention showing the oven door in an open position.

With reference to the drawing, the portable heating oven of this invention, indicated generally at 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as consisting of an elongated hollow housing 12 of rectangular shape formed of sheet metal and having a backwall 14, a front wall 16, a bottom wall 18, and a top wall 20. A door 22 is mounted, by means ofa hinge assembly 24, on the front wall 16 for up and down pivotal movement between the closed and opened positions illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, respectively. A handle and latch assembly 26 on the door 22 can be used to facilitate opening and closing move ment of the door 22 and in the closed position of the door 22 is capable of latching the door to the front wall 16 so as to keep the door in a closed position. Handles 28 are provided on end walls 30 of the housing 12 to facilitate easy transport and movement of the oven 10 to a desired location.

A flat heat-transmitting plate 32 (FIG. 2) is disposed within the housing 12 in a horizontal position and is supported on depending legs 34 which rest on the housing bottom wall 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the plate 32 is of a size such that the legs 34 are spaced from the housing back wall 14 and front wall 16 when the plate 32 is unheated. This spacin is necessary in order to accommodate expansion of the p ate 32 when it becomes heated. An electric heating element 36 is positioned against the underside of the heat-transmitting plate 32 for imparting heat to the plate 32 and is provided with a conventional electric inlet line 38 which can be plugged into any conventional outlet. A signal light 40 on the front wall 16 is electrically connected to the heating element 36 which is in turn associated with a conventional thermostat (not shown) so that the light 40 will indicate when a predetermined heating condition exists within the housing 12.

In the use of the portable heating oven 10 of this invention, assume that the rigid vinyl sheet 42 shown in FIG. 2 is to be preheated so that it can be fabricated to a particular shape.

The door 22 is moved to its open position shown in FIG. 3 which'substantially full opens the front side of the oven 10 so that the sheet 42 can readily be moved to a supported position on the heat-transmitting plate 32, as shown in FIG. 2. A heat retaining and equalizing board 44, formed of a heat-resisting composition material and provided with a handle 46, is then placed on top of the vinyl sheet 42 to hold it in a flat position against the heat-transmitting plate 32. The door 22 is then moved to its closed position illustrated in FIG. 1 and the inlet line 38 is plugged into an outlet. The heating element 36 then heats the heat-transmitting plate 32 so that the plate 32 will uniformly conduct heat to the vinyl sheet 42. When the sheet 42 has been heated to a specified temperature, usually 178 F., the thermostat associated with the heating element 36 will turn off the element 36 and the indicating light 40 will go out indicating that the sheet 42 can be removed and deformed to the desired shape. The door 22 is then moved to its open position illustrated in FIG. 2, the board 44 is removed, and the heated vinyl sheet 42.is removed and shaped.

From the above description it is seenthat this invention provides a lightweight inexpensive heating oven for preheating rigid vinyl sheets for on-the-job fabrication that can be effectively used to quickly heat vinyl sheets 42. The use of the heattransmitting plate 32 assures a uniform heating of the sheet 42 so that it can be deformed to the desired shape with assurance that it will retain the desired shape over a prolonged service life. The housing 10 and the heat-transmitting plate 32 are preferably formed of light gauge sheet metal to facilitate easy transport of the oven 10 and reduce the cost of manufacture thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A portable heating oven for preheating a rigid vinyl sheet for on-the-job fabrication, said oven comprising an elongated hollow housing formed of sheet metal and having a front wall, a back wall, end walls, a top wall and a bottom wall, a flat imperforate heat-transmitting plate disposed in a horizontal position in said housing and having depending legs supported on said bottom wall, an electrical heating element in said housing positioned against the bottom side of and located substantially centrally of said plate for imparting heat thereto, said sheet being supported in a flat position directly on said plate for receiving heat therefrom, a flat retainer and heat-equalizing member supported directly on said sheet so as to retain said sheet in said flat position during heating thereof, an opening in said front wall to provide access to said plate, and a door hingedly mounted on said front wall to close said access opening. 

1. A portable heating oven for preheating a rigid vinyl sheet for on-the-job fabrication, said oven comprising an elongated hollow housing formed of sheet metal and having a front wall, a back wall, end walls, a top wall and a bottom wall, a flat imperforate heat-transmitting plate disposed in a horizontal position in said housing and having depending legs supported on said bottom wall, an electrical heating element in said housing positioned against the bottom side of and located substantially centrally of said plate for imparting heat thereto, said sheet being supported in a flat position directly on said plate for receiving heat therefrom, a flat retainer and heat-equalizing member supported directly on said sheet so as to retain said sheet in said flat position during heating thereof, an opening in said front wall to provide access to said plate, and a door hingedly mounted on said front wall to close said access opening. 